TinCaps Game Information: April 8 vs. Lansing Lugnuts (Athletics Affiliate)
MWL Fort Wayne TinCaps

TinCaps Game Information: April 8 vs. Lansing Lugnuts (Athletics Affiliate)

Published on April 8, 2026 under Midwest League (MWL)
Fort Wayne TinCaps News Release


Fort Wayne TinCaps (1-3) vs. Lansing Lugnuts (2-1)

Wednesday, April 8 | Parkview Field | 6:35 PM | Game 5 of 132

RHP Isaiah Lowe (0-0, 3.0 IP, 3.00 ERA) vs. RHP Steven Echavarria (0-0, 4.2 IP, 3.86 ERA)

WATCH: Bally Sports Live, MLB.TV, MLB+ | LISTEN: 1380 The Fan & 100.9 FM & TinCaps.com/Listen Game Notes | 2026 TinCaps Media Guide | TinCaps.com/Pressbox

MIRALLES MAGIC: 'Caps right-hander Maikel Miralles got the ball on Tuesday night didn't disappoint. The 21-year-old struck out a career-high 9 batters in his first start of 2026 while he allowed just 1 hit in 4.0 frames of work. In his 3 career starts with Fort Wayne, Miralles has a 1.62 ERA across 16.2 innings. The Maracay, Venezuelan native made 20 appearances (16 starts) across four levels in 2025, ending with a 4.94 ERA.

HOME OPENER HISTORY: Fort Wayne pitching tied a home opener franchise record on Tuesday with 16 strikeouts as a staff. Maikel Miralles set the tone with his career-high 9 punchouts, tying Ethan Elliott's performance on May 4, 2021, for the most in a home opener. Southpaw Braian Salazar followed Miralles with 4 punchouts in 2.0 frames, while Vicarte Domingo, Jefferson Villabona, and Clay Edmondson each added one. The 'Caps other home opening performance of 16 strikeouts came on Elliott's 2021 start.

LOWE LEVELING UP: Right-hander Isaiah Lowe makes his first start of 2026 on Wednesday. Now in his third season in Fort Wayne, Lowe has compiled 29 starts. His 22 a year ago led the team. The 2022 11th round pick came out of the bullpen for the first time in a TinCap uniform on Friday against Great Lakes. In his 3.0 innings of work, Lowe allowed 1 run on 2 hits while striking out 4 and not walking a batter.

SETTING THE TABLE: Leadoff man Kasen Wells has reached base safely in all four games to begin 2026. The Graham, Texas native is tied for the team lead with four walks and has reached in 7 of 15 plate appearances. Wells worked 14 walks in his 31 games with the 'Caps in 2025 after being transferred from Single-A Lake Elsinore on Aug. 1.

MCCOY FINDING THE BARREL: Fort Wayne outfielder Alex McCoy went 2-for-4 in last night's home opener, his first High-A multi-hit game. McCoy's first hit of the season came on Opening Day at Dow Diamond against Great Lakes, where he slashed a double into the right-center field gap. The Baltimore native has earned all 3 of his hits so far this year, with all producing an exit velocity of 105 mph or more (105, 106, 110).

260 TO THE SHOW: Former TinCap catcher Brandon Valenzuela became the 236th player in Fort Wayne Minor League history to make his MLB debut, starting behind the dish for the Blue Jays. The 25-year-old recorded his first big-league hit in his first at-bat. Valenzuela played in 153 games with the TinCaps spanning from 2021-2023, with his longest stint coming in 2022 when he logged time in 99 games with the franchise.

AN OLD FRIEND BACK AT THE HELM: Manager Jonathan Mathews returns for his third stint in Fort Wayne and second as manager. The 53-year-old acted as the 'Caps manager in 2023, bringing Fort Wayne to the postseason behind a second-half Midwest League East Division title. Mathews' first stint in Fort Wayne spanned from 2018-2021 as the team's hitting coach. He spent the past two years as the Padres Minor League Hitting Coordinator.

JACK IS BACK: TinCap returner Jack Costello collected Fort Wayne's first home run of the season in the first game of Sunday's doubleheader. His solo blast in the second inning traveled 412 feet off Dodgers No. 12 prospect, Zach Root. Costello had one of the TinCaps' 7 multi-home run games in 2025, and left the yard 10 times a season ago.

2026 PSM CLASSIC: Parkview Field will once again host 12 high school and college baseball games, featuring 24 local teams, this April and May as a part of the annual Parkview Sports Medicine Baseball Classic. Matchups will feature rival teams from around Northeast Indiana and Northwest Ohio. Several PSM Baseball Classic alumni have gone on to play professionally, including Heritage's Andrew Saalfrank, who went on to pitch in the World Series with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2023. One local product, Josh VanMeter, who grew up in Ossian and played for the TinCaps in 2014 and '15 on his way to Major League Baseball, helped launch the PSM Baseball Academy last year, a new premier baseball training program with upcoming camps, private lessons, and group programs. The event begins Tuesday, April 14, at 4:30 p.m. with New Haven taking on Heritage.

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